The Freedom Fighters: Life After Jet
by awhnuh
Summary: After Jet, Smellerbee, and Longshot left for Ba Sing Se without warning, The Freedom Fighters have a lot to do. A new leader needs to be chosen, and order has to be restored. What will happen to the village that was flooded?
1. Prologue

**The Freedom Fighters: Life After Jet  
Chapter 1: Prolouge**

Summary: Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee have left the Freedom Fighters without warning. Now that their leader is gone, somebody has to take over the Freedom Fighters. Who will it be? What will happen to the village that was flooded?

* * *

"We've got a big, big mess hands on our hands, Duke."

Sneers glanced down at the small boy next to him as they watched the chaos within the Freedom Fighter's home. Everyone had something to say, but only one thing stood out above the shouts: Where's Jet? After the dam had been destroyed, the children had started panicking. The Fire Nation was all ready sweeping the forest floors, looking for the rebels.

Those who hadn't been informed of the plan to flood out the village that was inhabited by the Fire Nation were angry that they had to find out what happened from Pipsqueak and Smellerbee (who had disappeared after arriving). Longshot and 'Bee were believed to be trying to thaw out Jet, after being frozen to the tree by the Water Tribe girl.

"YIKES!" The Duke sprinted to the left, dodging a falling cup that crashed on the floor. The shattered pieces were evidence of the terror that was happening.

Sneers surveyed the scene, picking out Pipsqueak and beckoning him over. After a few mumbled words, Pipsqueak departed, picking up the Duke, who was getting ready to join the 'fight'. Sneers was left to deal with the scenario, breaking up feuds and restoring order.

With leaving Sneers, Pipsqueak and The Duke ran through bushes and past trees, having left the safety of their tree house. They weren't too keen on being on the ground, but they knew the route to where Jet was better than through the trees. The two Freedom Fighters stumbled, stopping. The scent of smoke reached their noses, and immediately they assumed Fire Nation soldiers were nearby.

"You go." The Duke prodded Pipsqueak forward, who quickly retreated.

"No, you. I'll stay here in case Jet comes along."

"He's not going to pop up!"

Pipsqueak shrugged his shoulders; "We'll just go the other way, then."

"But that way is longer!"

"Who cares? Let's go!"

Sighing with defeat, The Duke struggled to keep up with his fellow Freedom Fighter, moving his stubby legs as fast as he could. It took longer then it was supposed to, but eventually they reached where Jet had been left.

"Aw man! He's all ready gone!"

The Duke groaned, falling onto his bottom. Pipsqueak studied the tree where Jet had been frozen, a finger stroking his chin. "But how?"

The Duke looked over at him, pushing his helmet up to see better. "Does it matter how? Smellerbee and Longshot probably melted the ice somehow and now they're gone!"

"You're right. Let's go back and tell everybody. Maybe Sneers got everything calm."

* * *

Smellerbee stared at the sparkling stars through the leaves and branches, rolling on her side. She watched Longshot for a moment as he got a fire started, Jet off collecting wood.

"We should've told them," She said, speaking aloud for the first time in hours.

Longshot turned his head, his face wiped of emotion. _It's better this way._

"I guess," She rolled onto her back again, using her arms as a pillow.


	2. The Dam Blast

**The Freedom Fighters: Life After Jet  
Chapter 2: The Dam Blast**

All right. The last chapter was as titled, a prologue. I don't believe that Jet, Longshot, and Smellerbee left without warning, but my friend brought up the idea to me. It inspired to use it as a free writing project as a warm up, and it's turning out to this. In this chapter, a new leader for the Freedom Fighters will be chosen, and it will have lots more action then the last chapter.

* * *

Up in the treetops of that belonged to rebellious children, most was quiet. A few were up, starting up a breakfast for the entire group, as well has fixing bridges, pulleys, and anything else that was needed to transport to different platforms. Every 'room' used for sleeping was filled, except two. One, belonged to the former leader, Jet, and the other was shared by two of his main friends, Longshot and Smellerbee. The three had left in the afternoon, after somehow managing to thaw out Jet after a friend of the Avatars had frozen him to a tree. 

It all had been because of a scheme Jet had thought up. Fire Nation soldiers had taken over the nearby village, and the Freedom Fighters had been causing them trouble, but not too extreme. They merely stole their supplies, humiliated them, and pulled harmless tricks. But Jet had wanted something more. He planned to destroy the dam with blasting jelly, flooding out the entire town. He decided it was best to sacrifice the Earth Kingdom villagers to get rid of the Fire Nation.

The Avatar and two of his friends came along, though. The Avatar and the girl that could water bend from the Water Tribe filled the reservoir, filling the dam with more water. The Water Tribe boy, however, caught on to the plan, and after ambushing Smellerbee and Pipsqueak, warned the villagers of the massacre. The village was destroyed, but everyone, including the Fire Nation, survived. The girl was angry at Jet and used her powers to freeze him to a tree. Some of the Freedom Fighters blamed Jet; others blamed the Avatar and his friends for what was now known as 'The Dam Blast.'

Now, the Freedom Fighters were without a leader, being that their runner-up leader, Smellerbee, also left. No one knew what to do if something like this happened, which led to the chaos that followed the day before. Sneers had somehow straightened out their problems for the night, urging everyone to bed. Those who had been in Jet's inner circle were possible candidates for the leader, but no one knew whom. Was it to be Sneers, who often starting up arguments? Or was it The Duke, who had an infamous obsession with blowing up anything? Perhaps it was to be Pipsqueak, the kind, but dim-witted who's only strong point was using tree trunks and clubs as weapons.

Noise soon was heard throughout the trees as the children, aged from six to fifteen, began to awaken, sunlight pouring through spaces in the roofs of the huts and windows made out of a square cut out of wood. Quiet chatter sounded as everyone started their daily chores. Some set to sharpening weapons, most going out to scout and hunt out food for future days. Around ten of the six-dozen rebels were at set stations, keeping guard. No matter who was the leader, there was no question that guards were needed to watch for Fire Nation soldiers trudging through _their_ forest. The only time the Freedom Fighters were without guards was when they were changing people.

Birds whistled to one another, or as it would appear to someone walking through the territory of the Freedom Fighters at the time. Children swung back into the trees, all happily running towards The Food Tree. Everyone was to have breakfast, except, of course, the guards, who would eat before their shifts. The spot where Jet normally sat was left empty, seeing as it was 'the leader's seat'. The Food Tree was noisy with the sounds of chewing, talking, and the occasional singing, and it took a loud whistle to quiet them, thanks to Sneers.

The Duke stood up, though it didn't add much to his height. "Me, Sneers, and Pipsqueak think that it'd be best if we'd all vote on a new leader tonight at dinner. So that's what we're gonna do." As soon as he sat down, talk started up again, except on a different matter; who was the best candidate for the job? Different opinions were voiced as the The Food Tree cleared out, and the rebels returned to their previous posts. The possible leaders stuck together, preparing to raid a Fire Nation campsite for supplies and weapons.

* * *

"Haha! I told you it'd be easy to bring 'em down! All it took was a punch to the left, and to the right, and it was a piece of pie afterwards!" The Duke pumped his arm in the air, twisting in circles as the trio walked. 

"Don't be so happy, Duke. It was only by luck that we brought down at least fourteen soldiers by ourselves," Sneers said, tossing a pack of supplies to the short boy. Pipsqueak nodded, pulling on a rope hanging next to a large oak. A creaking was heard from above as a plank held by two ropes lowered to the ground beside them. They loaded crates and packs from a wagon that had been pulled by Pipsqueak. With the word given, a boy up at the tree house pulled the supplies back up.

Once up to where the plank held the supplies, the boy, who was known as Sledgehammer, was ordered to move the supplies into the area where weapons and other crafts were kept. With that done, Pipsqueak and The Duke moved off to complete some chores, while Sneers helped Sledgehammer mark what supplies they had gained from their raid.

Dinnertime came around in no time, and as guards switched shifts, the rebels moved to the Food Tree for the final meal of the night, and for a very important event. The sun started to fall behind the mountains, casting a golden glow over the Earth Kingdom. The fading rays shone through the leaves, offering a limited amount of light to the Freedom Fighters. Candles and torches were lit within The Food Tree, warming the room.

The children quickly ate their small portions, and as everyone cleaned off their plates, silence fell. Sneers exchanged glances with The Duke and Pipsqueak, and they shrugged. He took that as an invitation to speak first.

"Obviously, there's something that needs to be taken care of at this moment. Since Jet left without any warning, we hadn't been able to settle the matters of selecting a new leader." He paused, trying to think before he spoke. "It's been a pact since Jet started the Freedom Fighters a long time ago. Any of the original Fighters were to be elected leader, if there was any reason to do so. Now, this is the time we chose a new leader. You have a choice between three of us. Pipsqueak," Pipsqueak stood, as to acknowledge his presence. "The Duke," The Duke also stood, as Pipsqueak sat down. "And me." He remained standing, as The Duke resumed his sitting stance.

Sneers was silent for a few moments before also sitting. Pipsqueak took this moment to stand up, using it as his turn to speak. "You get to chose one of us by voting. Bingwen will count how many hands are raised, and the one with the most is the leader. You can vote once." His voice was different than his normal, rough, thick accent. Instead, it was quieter, nerves altering it.

Bingwen, a thin, but tall boy with neat black hair, stood, clearing his voice. "If ya vote for Sneers, raise one hand." He counted quickly, nodding. "If ya vote for Pipsqueak, raise one hand." Once more, he counted the hands, mouthing the numbers. "And for The Duke?" As the hands went up, he did his final count, then turned to the three Freedom Fighters.

"Well, we have a leader," Bingwen said with a smile.

* * *

**Bingwen** means bright and cultivated in Chinese. I decided that as orphans, many of the Freedom Fighters wouldn't be able to count, except for a choice few.  
**Sledgehammer** is a minor character with no significant role in this story. 

I'd like to know who you think is going to be the new leader.  
The Duke.  
Pipsqueak.  
Or Sneers.

I've started on the next chapter, but I'm not entirely sure who, so it's been left as a blank.  
For the meantime, someone who has appeared in a past episode will be making an appearence in the next chapter.  
I know exactly who it is, and they're all ready being worked into my plot.

I'd really like to know what you think of this story so far, so comments are really appreciated.  
If you feel it's going to slow, or to fast, don't hesitate to tell me. Thanks.


	3. Surprising Visitors

**The Freedom Fighters: Life After Jet  
****Chapter 3: Surprising Visitors**

This chapter will contain the Freedom Fighter's new leader, plus a surprise visitor who will play an important part for three or four chapters. I didn't know who to choose as the leader, but my friend helped me by discussing qualities and such. So, here is the new Freedom Fighters leader.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or any of its characters though it won't stop me from wishing.**

* * *

Bingwen remained silent for a few moments, waiting for silence to once more fill The Food Tree. He cleared his throat, an aura of importance surrounding him. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it, unsure of what to say. Finally, after the rebels started to grow restless, he announced, "THE DUKE IS THE LEADER!" in a booming voice. This was the first time Bingwen had ever spoken this loud, but none took notice as they clapped and cheered for The Duke. 

"All right, everybody! Get off to bed! Tomorrow's gonna be a good day!" The Duke stood, watching everyone depart. Pipsqueak and Sneers smiled, congratulating the small boy before departing for bed. The Duke waited for everyone to leave The Food Tree, walking off once it had emptied. He walked around to posts at which guards stood, checking to make sure everything was in order. Once he was positive all was well, he crossed a bridge to a separate section of the Freedom Fighters' home, climbing up a ladder, and slipping into a hole carved into a tree. It created a slide that led right to his new room. It was exactly as Jet left it the morning of The Dam Blast. The bed lay in the corner, with a tree stump used as a table to place items. It wasn't fancy, but it was secluded and separate from the rest of the tree house.

Tossing his helmet to the side, The Duke fell onto the bed, staring at the wooden ceiling of the room. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't match up to Jet's standards, especially with leading, but if the Freedom Fighters decided he was good enough to be their leader, then it meant he had something special inside of him. It still was no help, though. He didn't have half of the qualities Pipsqueak and Sneers, especially keeping order. He was young, younger then three-quarters of all the children, so he was still reckless, curious, and somewhat clueless. He never thought before speaking, let alone acting. Turning to his side, The Duke fought sleep, not wanting to tumble into dreams. He lost in the end, eyes closing and dreams clouding his mind.

* * *

"Duke!" 

"Meh?"

"DUKE!"

"Wha'?"

"DUUUUUUUUUKE!"

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up!" The tiny boy scrambled out of the bed, slamming his helmet onto his head. He stifled a yawn, staring at Sledgehammer, who apparently had come to wake him from his slumber.

"You missed breakfast, and Pipsqueak told me to come check on you."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Sledge. I have to go get everything in order, huh?"

Sledgehammer nodded, leaving the Freedom Fighters room by way of a trap door leading out. The Duke followed after him moments later, planning on first going to check on the stock of blasting jelly. It was a daily routine, and he usually ended up finding some spare spark rocks, which created a small pop! and spark when hitting something hard enough, and using it to annoy someone. Reaching the supplies area of his home, he asked Zhong, who currently was on duty for the supplies, if they were low on blasting jelly. His answer was that they had a good amount, and that pleased The Duke. On his way out, he tucked a bag of spark rocks into his pocket, whistling a happy tune as he left.

The Duke spent the rest of his first day as leader rearranging some guards, checking supplies, and setting a few rebellious rebels to go catch fish for tonight's meal. No Fire Nation soldiers had been sighted, which meant no fighting. All in all, it was an uninteresting day. Well, except for a ten-year-old boy falling off the edge of a platform and breaking a leg. It was nothing that a 'healer' couldn't fix. So it was after an early dinner that he went for a walk through the trees and branches, throwing a spear at random trunks. He continued on like this for an hour, just as the sun was beginning to set. An alarming whistle echoed through the forest, catching his attention.

He ran as quick as he could, tripping a few times over his small feet, heading in the direction of the headquarters. He knew from past experience that that whistle was used to get the leader to the source of the problem immediately. He slipped on a wet panel of wood, sliding right past his 'exit'. Gathering his balance, he slid down the pole that had been built only weeks before.

"Duke! About time you get here!" Sneers said, talking quickly.

"I was _trying_ to-"

"No, listen. We have some intruders down below. We can't tell if they're Fire Nation or not."

"All right. Go get some of them other people and let's get down there!" The Duke poked Sneers with the butt of his spear, ushering him forward. He grinned; good thing he had those spark rocks in his pocket. They'd be fun to use on these intruders.

In a matter of seconds Sneers had returned with Pipsqueak, Sledgehammer, and six other Freedom Fighters who Duke wasn't too familiar with, but knew they were pretty decent at fighting. Silently, they lowered themselves down by using the branches, stopping at the last ones to examine their enemies. They wore green dresses, but it was the armor over them that confused The Duke. They also had simple green headdresses on, except for one, who had a more complicated one. A flash of gold caught his attention, and he noticed fans tucked into their belts. He looked over to Pipsqueak, who shrugged. Not knowing what else to do, he signaled for them to spread out in a circle in the trees around the group of females. A whistle that sounded like a bird chirping told them to ready their weapons.

One last signal, and they all dropped to the ground, surrounding the females. "What are you doing in our forest?" He asked, speaking mainly to the girl who had the gold headdress.

"We're just passing through. We mean no harm." She said, shutting the fan she had pulled out in defense with a snap. She turned her head to the others, and they all did the same.

"Well, who are you?" The Duke didn't care to follow pursuit of the warrior girls, and didn't give his group a signal to lower their weapons.

"Kyoshi Warriors, of Kyoshi Island. And I'm Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors." The girl, Suki, said proudly. This was the first time The Duke paid any attention to facial details. White paint was on their faces, as well as red on their eyelids.

"Now that I've answered _your_ questions, I'd like to ask some of my own. Who are you?"

The Duke rested the butt of his spear on the ground, leaning against it. The other Freedom Fighters took this as a signal to set down their own weapons. "We're the Freedom Fighters. We protect villages and people from the Fire Nation. I'm The Duke, the leader."

"All right then, and now here's a final question. We're low on supplies, and the last village we stopped at was abandoned. If we gave you some money, perhaps you could give us some supplies?" Suki said, examining the other Freedom Fighters as she spoke. Short ones, medium ones, tall ones. None older than seventeen, for sure. And their leader, he was probably only six or seven.

The Duke turned to Sledgehammer, "Do we have 'nough supplies?"

Sledgehammer shrugged, taking a moment to think. "I guess we do. We have some to spare, but not much."

"Fine, we can give ya' some. Follow me." The Duke turned, the Freedom Fighters following after him. Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors stood still for a moment or two, before hurrying after the short leader.

When they had finally caught up to the rebels (the moved faster than Suki had intended), only the largest one remained, grinning somewhat stupidly.

"Just grab onto this rope here, and tug. You'll be there in no time." He said thickly, taking the arm of one of the warriors, and making her grasp the rope. "And up you go!" He watched happily as she went whizzing up into the trees, vanishing from sight. He had this go on until all of the thirteen or so girls were up, pulling a rope for himself and soaring into the leaves.

* * *

**So, The Duke was made leader, and Suki and the other Kyoshi Warriors were the visitors. Planned for the next chapter though, is a feud between the Duke and someone, and a fight with the Fire Nation. This chapter I hope was better than my last ones, because I know that it's longer.**

**And, I also realized it took a while to update, but I had writer's block. Reviews, please?**


End file.
